Red Panda cub

At almost five months old, Seba the
Red Panda cub is becoming much more confident about venturing in to his
forest-themed home at the Zoo’s Rainforest Trail. Just as a cub would in the
wild, Seba spent the first couple of months tucked up inside his mother’s nest
box and not surprisingly on rainy days this is his favourite spot too!

Most mornings he’ll greet us when we’re preparing the exhibit for the
day, looking to be handfed some small pieces of pear and grapes alongside his
parents Mayhem and Wanmei. He has recently started sharing his parents’ daily
supply of bamboo, selecting the tenderest parts the new shoots and leaves.

As a Zoo Keeper, the birth of an animal is one of the best parts
of the job, but we’re particularly proud of our Red Panda Breeding Program. We
have the best breeding record in the southern hemisphere for this vulnerable
species and Seba is another milestone marking the 45th little cub
into the world since 1977.

Seba is getting
close to the age where he’ll be fully weaned from his mum, but he still has a
lot of growing to do! Last week we weighed him and he’s just under two kilos,
roughly a third of an adult panda’s weight. When he stands on the branches,
next to his parents, you can see how much smaller Seba is. He’s also still got
his pale baby fur across his face, although it may be that he has taken after
his mum whose facial fur is also quite pale.